


A Divine Vision

by SabineElectricHeart (TheLifeAndLiesOfFerns)



Category: Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses
Genre: F/M, Goddesses, Guilt, Post-Timeskip | War Phase (Fire Emblem: Three Houses), Religion, Revelations
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-07
Updated: 2021-03-07
Packaged: 2021-03-12 18:35:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,801
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29888811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheLifeAndLiesOfFerns/pseuds/SabineElectricHeart
Summary: Gilbert is praying alone in the cathedral when he receives a sudden visit of a mystical being.
Relationships: My Unit | Byleth & Gilbert Pronislav, Sothis & Gilbert Pronislav
Kudos: 8





	A Divine Vision

The hour was late. The monastery was quiet, not even the animals in the woods around Garreg Mach were bustling with any sort of noise.

Predictably, the cathedral is empty. Not even Dimitri, who usually hung around the pile of debris, was anywhere to be seen, and this is how Gilbert preferred it, so he could pray to the Goddess in peace. He knows the breath on his lungs was a violation of his holy covenant with Sothis and the Blaiddyd royal dynasty, but he could not help but find his prayers absolutely shameful

If he had done his job properly, there would be little need to pray for the dead, after all.

“Eternal rest grant unto them, O Goddess, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. May the King and his family rest in peace and amongst their brethren. Amen.”

As soon as he finishes his prayers, he hears a pebble falling from the mountain of rubble. His sensitive ears, honed by years of military service, alert for a presence within the cathedral. His large right hand grips the sword he carries around his waist, ready to draw in defence.

More and more pebbles fall, and anxiety grows exponentially in the heart of the knight. Whatever it is, it is probably big.

Soon, Gilbert turns his eyes toward the source of the noise. He realizes the rubble is not falling down; rather, it is oddly falling up, higher and higher.

As he looks to his left, a strong pulse of force passes through him, and while it is mostly harmless, it does banish the numerous pews away. The broken glass on the windows is quickly restored to its former glory, depicting the twenty-six known patrons of Crests.

Finally, with the nave completely and magically rebuilt, the clouds clear and moonshine bathes the altar. Gilbert remembers it is only the first crescent, and the light should not be strong enough for such clarity in the temple. Alas, the Moon shone as if it was larger than full.

The cathedral is as beautiful as it was five years ago, but with a most important difference. By the altar, sat a large stone throne, which carried the symbol of the Holy Flame. It was the throne of the Goddess at the Blue Sea Star.

There, lounging comfortable on the hard stone as if it was the finest cushions in Adrestia, was a girl. Not too young, about two and twenty, but still much younger than his sixty years on this earth. She donned fine silk and gold, in a short fit on her lithe body. Her hair was green and voluminous, held up by an encrusted band and flowing down the entire length of her back.

“Oh, hello there, sir knight.” She greeted amicably. “How are you faring this evening?”

Gilbert strengthened his grip on the sword and took a step back. Innocent-looking or not, this was a powerful being, and it would not do to lower one’s guard.

“Oh, please, sir Pronislav. This are not the manners your mother instilled you with, and I am sure it has not passed so long for you to forget them.” The girl sneers derisively. “We are amongst friends here. Drop your sword and come closer.”

“I know you not, fiend.” He grumbles, trying to keep his voice steady. “Let me leave and you shall not have anything to fear from me.”

The girl chuckles, as if the notion amuses her. “Whether I release you or not has absolutely no bearing in my fear from the likes of you. I wish you could just recognize me, dear knight, it would make for more efficiency, but if you insist to be so, very well.”

Suddenly, from the yards that separated them, Gilbert was thrust forward, kneeling over the feet of the girl, who looked down with an amused smile on her face, as if waiting for the punch of a very funny joke. It was terrifying.

Though, truth be told, he was not thrust with force or violence, but rather as if the space between them did not exist anymore. It was as soft as a blink.

Gilbert, then, raises his eyes to the figure. From the feet decorated with gold, to the left hand on a lean hip covered in silk and the pale green eyes of a muted Summer. He knows this person.

“Pro-professor!” He stutters. “What is happening?”

The green-haired teacher lets out a melodious and unrestrained laugh. “Not quite, sir knight. You see, the one you call professor and I are, indeed, two faces of the same being. Alas, for now, we are separated. I who stand before you am Sothis, the Goddess of this land. You may address me as you prefer.”

His breath catches on his throat. “It cannot be!”

“It is what it is, sir knight.” She dismisses with a wave. “Or would you prefer I call you Gustave? Your mother has introduced you to me by this name, after all.”

He says nothing, still shell-shocked with the ramifications of what he must be seeing. Is he dead? Mortals are supposed to meet with the Goddess only when they pass. Or is he hallucinating, perhaps?

“It is very rude to call one you have evoked for so many times a hallucination, you know? You are not dead either. This is boring and I have much to do, so believe what you want, I do not care.” The so-called goddess huffed. “Now, you have come to me with a request, one you have brought forward many times. What is it?”

The old man frowned. “Are you not the Goddess? Should you not know?”

“Indulge me, will you?” Sothis rolled her eyes. “If I am the Goddess, then you are my servant and should do what I say, not question me. If I am the professor, she would not know any of it. If I am a hallucination, well, there is no one else for me to talk to other than you, and I would think it preferrable to waste a few moments in redundancies.”

Gilbert sighed. “Very well. I have asked for King Lambert Blaiddyd and his wife to rest in peace.”

“Which one?” She chuckled, as if finding her own joke amusing. “I jest, I jest. You would do well smiling more, you know?”

“Excuse me, your holiness, but I did not find it funny at all.” He responded, with his face in a frown.

“Fine, fine.” She dismisses. “Tell me this, then. You have a goddess before you, one who can grant you any desire you might ever have. Why do you ask for the rest of a long-dead king?”

“Is there anything else I can do?” He counters. “You must know I was in service of the royal family, yes? Of the oaths I have taken in your name? When I was only a young soldier, the king saw fit to make a knight of me. I was given the great honour of guiding and protecting the royal family.”

“Yes, yes, I recall.” Sothis says, as she takes a seat on the throne, as if the subject bores her so. “You have taught both Lambert and Dimitri on the lance, you have offered your candid advice, you have served them faithfully even in face of reservation, which you have certainly had a lot. Until…”

“Until that day.” Gilbert finishes the woman’s phrase. “I was...powerless. When I received word of the attack, it was already too late. His Majesty was dead, along with many knights and soldiers. If only I had made it to Duscur more quickly...”

“This is for me to know and you to wonder.” The green-haired girl smirks. Her teeth were clean white and straight. “Then what happened?”

“After that, I abandoned my wife and child, and fled my homeland. I turned my back on everything I swore to protect.” The warrior finishes the tale with a forlorn look on his aged face. “It is my fault that the King has died, and it is my fault that His Highness, Dimitri, has become... The way he is now. My sins are countless. I will bear the weight of my guilt for as long as I live.”

Sothis avoids his ice-blue eyes, in a solemn expression.

“Perhaps you will, indeed. I have no bearing on the hearts and minds of my children, adopted or otherwise. Only you are the lord of your soul, Gustave, and only you will decide when it is time to let go of the guilt.” The mystical being declared, and then looked at him with a softer look. “However, you must know that praying will not help them.”

“I repeat, what else can I do?” He spats, bitterly. “Apologizing to my daughter and wife. Devoting myself to His Highness. That is the way to atonement, and yet... Even if I am granted the forgiveness of those who still live, praying is all I can do to atone to those who are with us no more...”

“Oh, Gustave…” She says as if he is a naïve child. “I cannot say whether Lambert or Patricia live in my realm or were banished to Ailell, and I cannot say whether you shall end up, either. What I can say, however, is that, wherever they ended up, it was by their own making, not mine or yours. What I can say is that the concerns of the dead are hardly past grievances or the way of their death. What I can say is that, while past actions warrant repent and reflection, there is only one path, and it is forward.”

“Long ago, there was someone who told me something quite similar, and yet, I still find myself unable to follow through with this advice.” The man sighed, worn as if he had returned from a long war. “Forgive me. This will not do. As I grow older, I find myself talking endlessly about the past.”

“Don’t they all?” She smirked. “It seems our time is coming to a close. I cannot tell you what to do, Gustave. I can only hope you make the right choices. Sooner or later, no matter what path you take, you shall arrive at the same place, and then we will know what must have been done.”

A soft breeze blew from nowhere and with that, Gilbert was back to the nave of the Cathedral, alone, as it was before he talked to the girl.

Goddess or not, there was sage advice on her speech. Yet, he is a stubborn man and cannot change so drastically, so quickly.

“Eternal rest grant unto them, O Goddess, and let perpetual light shine upon them.”


End file.
